Self-leveling dispenser



w. J. GIBBS SELF-LEVELING DISPENSER Dec. 15, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 12, 1950 5 X6 5 0 w m l. M \6 u v n B INVENTOR WILLIAM J GIBBS FIGJ.

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ATTORNEY Dec. 15, 1953 w. ,1. GIBBS SELF-LEVELING DISPENSER Filed April 12, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WILLIAM J. GIBBS ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 15, 1953 SELF-LEVELING DISPENSER William J. Gibbs, East Rockaway, N. Y., assignor to American Machine and Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application April 12, 1950, Serial No. 155,547

9 Claims. (Cl. 312-71) This invention relates to a storing and dispensing apparatus of the self-leveling type and is particularly well suited for storing a plurality of small articles in separate compartments.

Where large quantities of merchandis have to be kept on public display in such manner that the purchasers are able to help themselves to the articles directly from the display there exists not only the possibility of articles being accidentally broken but the purchaser may also disrupt the orderly arrangement of the displayed merchandise when serving themselves.

It is an object of this invention to provide a storing and dispensing apparatus which is economical to manufacture and which will elimihate the need for a purchaser stooping to pick up articles that are located near the floor.

Another object of my invention is to provide a self-leveling, storing and dispensing apparatus which is capable of storing in a plurality of stacks material, such as six bottle take away packages of soft drinks While maintaining the packages visible and readily accessible at all times.

Another object is to provide a storing and dispensing apparatus which will prevent a purchaser from accidentally damaging merchandise or disrupting the orderliness of the display when removing items therefrom.

Another object of my invention is to provide a multiple compartment self-leveling dispensing apparatus wherein each compartment has side walls which will laterally support individual stacks of the material supported on a common carrier in the dispensing apparatus.

Another object is to provide a storing and dispensing apparatus with multiple rows of compartments arranged in both depth and width.

A further object is to provide a method of assembling, storing and dispensing apparatus which facilitates economical manufacture and provides a rack of durable construction.

Other objects and features. of the invention will appear as the description of the particular physical embodiment selected to illustrate the invention progresses. In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, like characters of reference have been applied to corresponding parts throughout the several views which make up the drawings.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. I is an isometric view' illustrating a selfleveling dispenser in which the article: supporting member protrudes through a plurality of rows of cage-like Vertical: article confining shafts,

Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same,

Fig. 3 is a partial end elevation disclosing the guiding and supporting arrangement of the article supporting member as seen from line 3- of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a partial plan view of th same, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

With reference to the drawings, the self-leveling dispenser is provided with an article carrier 0 which consists of a U-shaped member "I, the two ends of which protrude through suitable slots [2 of a vertical housing H secured to a platform it. To each end of said member I0 are fastened an upward projecting lug Hi and a downward projecting lug I8 to each of which is pivoted a roller 20 and 22 respectively.

Lugs I6 and I8 and rollers 20 and22 are arranged in such a manner that rollers 20 contact and ride against the inside surface of the flange 25 formed on the front plate 24 adjacent the Sides of housing H, while rollers 22 contactand ride against the other side of the flange 25 which is adjacent the outside surface of said front plate 24 on the sides of housing H, thus keeping the U-shaped cantilever member I 0 always at a horizontal level. Lugs it are also rigidly connected by a cross bar 26 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) to each end of which is pivoted a guide roller 28. Guide rollers 28 are employed for the purpose of minimizing friction and preventing scraping of the article carrier against the slots or plates of housing H in case an unevenly distributed load should cause a slight cooking of the article carrier.

One end of a pair of sprocket chain 30 is connected to the upper end of each luglt. Each sprocket'chain 30 runs over idler sprockets 32 and 34 and the other end of each sprocket chain 39 is anchored to a forked lug 36 mounted on the lower side of top plate 3 8 of housing H (Fig. 2).

Two sprockets 32 are mounted on a cross shaft #0 supported in suitable bearings (not shown) attached to the inner sides of side walls 42 of housing H. The two sprockets 34 are loosely mounted at the ends of a floating shaft 44.- A plurality of calibrated springs A are anchored at one end to suitable lugs '48 secured to the platform M and are connected at the other end to the floating shaft 44. These springs are of such design that they expand and contract at auniform rate varying directly with the degree of force exerted thereon.

While calibrated tension springs such as. those shown in my U. S. Patent 2,251,87 t granted August 5, 1941 have been employed to illustrate the present invention it will be understoodthat calibrated compression springs such as that shown in my U, S. Patent 2,226,308 granted December 24, 1940 could also be employed to effect a counterbalancing force on the carrier C.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the U-shaped member I!) of the article carrier C projects into an article confining cage F which is divided into a plurality of compartments or rows of vertical article confining shafts. The article supporting carrier C has spaces formed therein so that the vertical iron rods making up the compartments pass through these spaces as the article supporting carrier moves up and down in the cage F.

The top of the cage F consists of a U-shaped rod 50 the free ends of which are secured to the top portion of the outer sides of side walls 42 of housing H. The frame 50 is horizontally supported on its sides by suitable rod loops 52 secured thereto. One end of each loop 52 is fastened to the side walls of the base l4 and the other end of said loop ends a short distance above said platform. To give better guidance to the articles inserted, each loop 52 is also provided with a vertical guide rod 54, the top end of which is welded or otherwise secured to the upper portion of said loop and the bottom end extends to a point a short distance above platform I4 in the same manner as the free end of loop 52.

Frame 50 on its front portion is supported by a number of loops 56, of which one end of each loop is secured to the front wall of platform l4, while the other end of each loop ends a short distance above the platform 24. In order to give rigidity to the free ends of all loops 52 and 56 and guide rods 54, two U shape frame rods 58 are provided and welded to the vertical shanks of each loop, thus forming a well constructed article confining cage. Two cross rods are secured at their ends to the inner sides of frame 50 and are mounted in such a way that the top frame is divided in two equal sections.

In order to further compartmentize the cage F, three dividing. rods 62 are rectangularly positioned with respect to bars 60 and are secured on one end to the front portion of said frame 59 while the other ends are fastened to the rearmost cross bar 60. The dividing rods 62 are welded to the centrally located cross bar an at the point where said rods cross and act to limit the distance the carrier C can rise when empty. As illustrated in Fig. 1, frame 59 is divided into eight compartments, each of which is capable of supporting a stack of articles such as 6 bottle take awa packages of soft drinks.

Vertical guide rods 66 are connected at their upper ends to dividing bars 62 and their lower ends extend through suitable holes formed in the base 14 and acts to individually guide opposite sides of 62011 stack of articles stored in each compartment. Vertical guide rods 54 are connected at their upper ends to cross rods 60 and their lower ends extend through suitable holes formed in the base l4 and act to guide opposite ends of the articles stacked in each compartment.

The vertical guide rods 66 are so arranged as to stand exe ctly in line with the vertical rods 52 and 54 of loops 52 when looking from the side of the dispenser and vertical guide rods 62 are so arranged as to stand exactly in line with the vertical rods of loops 56 when looking from the front of the dispenser, thus dividing the cage F into eight article confining compartments, in which a common carrier can move up and down to raise and lower material supported thereon.

A grate-like platform consisting of a plurality of interwoven rods arranged horizontally is secured to the top edge of the u-shaped article carrier member ID in such a manner as to project through each of the eight article confinement compartments. The article carrier will have free vertical travel past the vertical guide rods. This permits the articles stacked in each compartment to be supported against lateral displacement and at the same time enables all of the articles in the cage to be raised or lowered a distance suflicient to maintain the top layer of articles in all compartments at a substantially constant level.

The operation of my invention may be briefly described as follows:

The storing and dispensing apparatus is loaded with merchandise by placing articles to be stored, on the carrier platform C which causes the carrier to descend a predetermined distance each time an article is placed thereon. When one article has been placed in each of the eight compartments into which the cage F is divided, the carrier C will have descended a distance corresponding to approximately the height of the stored articles. This process is continued by placing a second layer of articles on top of the first layer in each of the eight compartments. The weight of the second layer causes the carrier to descend a similar distance so that the second layer of material will be positioned at approximately the same height as the first layer was before the second layer was added.

When the carrier C descends the loop formed by the sprocket chains to support the floating shaft 44 is shortened. By shortening this loop the calibrated springs 46 are stretched until the weight of the material supported on the carrier C is counterbalanced with the amount of force exerted on the spring 46 through the sprocket chains 30. Since the springs 46 are calibrated to extend and contract at a uniform rate corresponding with the amount of force exerted thereon the top of the material supported on the carrier C will always be maintained at a substantially constant level.

The cantilever carrier C in moving up and down is held in a horizontal position by means of rollers 20 and 22 riding on a flange 25 formed on the plate 24. The vertical guide rods 52, 54, 56, 64 and 66 all coact to support individual stacks of articles and prevent the top layer from being disarranged when a purchaser removes one of the articles from a compartment. Since the horizontal rods 10 making up the base of carrier C do not come in contact with any of the vertical rods they permit the carrier to freely move up and down while simultaneously allowing each stack of material to be supported by the vertical guide rods.

Since it is more convenient to remove articles from the top layer than to stoop to remove material from lower levels, a customer invariably removes all the articles of one layer before beginning on the next succeeding layer. As each layer is removed the counterbalancing springs 46 causes the carrier C to rise and as all of the articles are finally removed from one layer the next succeeding row of articles is elevated by the springs 46 so that the purchaser will have easy access thereto without the necessity of stooping to pick up the same. It will thus be seen that I have accomplished my objective of making not only a unit which is simple and economical to construct but also one which prevents the orderliness of a display from being interfered with and minimizes the tendency for merchandisc to be accidentally broken.

It will also be noted thatthe storing and: dispensing apparatus is of simplified construction so that: the compartmented wire cage may be preassembled before it is set in place over the carrier C. After the cage has been set in place over the carriage C it can be quickly secured to the base and upright structure fromthe outside by suitable means such: as welding or screws. This arrangement facilitates not only economical manufacture but also provides a storing and dispensing apparatus which will. provide years of reliableservice.

The invention abovedescribed be varied in construction within the scope of the claims for the: particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of manypossible embodiments of the same. The invention, therefore; is not to be restricted to the precisedetails of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1 Apparatus for storing material stacksso that it will be visible and readily accessible, said apparatus comprising, a base, vertical support structure rising upwardly from one side of said base, a wireenclosure surrounding and extending upwardly around the perimeter of said base, means for connecting the lower portion of said wire enclosure to the base, means forconnecting the ends ofsaid wire enclosure to said upright structure, a carrier mounted for free up and down movement inside of said wire enclosure, partitions consisting of vertical guide rods extending downwardly through said carrier into said base and between. said wire enclosure and vertical support structure to subdivide the wire enclosure into a plurality of individual vertical compartments, horizontal rods interconnecting the top of said vertical guide rods making up said partitions. with the top side of said wire enclosure 40 for. rigidly supporting said vertical. guide rods and for limiting, the distance said carrier can travel upwardly and a, counterbalancing device for exerting an upward pressure on said carrier which is proportional to the distance saidcarrier is moved downwardly so as to maintain the upper I layer of material supported thereon readily accessible at the top of said; wire. enclosure.

2. Apparatus for storing material comprising, a base support, a vertical support extending upwardlyfrom one side of said base support, a vertical flange formed on said vertical support adjacent eachside thereof, a cantilever carrier, rollers connected to said carrier and rolling on opposite sides of said flange, the rollers on opposite sides of each flange being positioned, at

spaced elevations so as to maintain the carrier horizontal when moving up; and down on said flanges, a U-shaped cage extending around and above the perimeter of said base support, means for connecting said cage at the ends to said vertical supports and at the lower side thereof to said base structure, vertical guide rods subdi- Viding said cage into a plurality of compartments for storing material in individual stacks inside of each of said compartments, and calibrated counterbalancing means for exerting an upward pressure on said carrier which is proportional to the amount of weight supported thereon.

3. Apparatus for storing material comprising a base structure, an upright extending upwardly from one side of said base structure, vertical flanges formed on opposite sides of said upright, a wire enclosure extending vertically in an upward direction from the perimeter of said base structure, means for securing said wire enclosure to said base structure and to said vertical up.- rights, a. U-shaped' carrier mounted for-upand down movement: inside of said: wire enclosure constructed and: arranged so.- that the ends thereoi extend; past said flanges, a lug extending downwardly from said carrier in front of each of said flanges, a roller mounted on the end of each of said downwardly extending lugs to'ri'de against the front portion of said flanges, a lug extending upwardly from said: carrier inback of each: of said flanges, a roller mounted on each of said lugs to ride. against the side portion of said flanges to maintain the carrier horizontal when it movesu-pand down in front of said" uprig-ht, and calibrated tension means for exerting an upward pressure on saidcarrier proportional to the distance said carrier is pushed downwardly by the weight of material placed thereon.

4. A self-leveling storing and dispensing apparatus' comprising, a base, an upright structure extending upwardly from one side of said base, flanges formed along opposite sides of said uprightstructure, a cantilever carrier extending outwardly from said upright structure, rollers fixedly mounted on opposite sides of said carrier adjacent said flanges for rolling on opposite sides of said flanges to maintain said cantilever in a horizontal position at all times, a bar interconnecting the opposite sides of said carrier on which said rollers are mounted, rollers mounted on the ends of said bar toprevent said carriage frommoving laterally by engaging the sides of said upright structure with said rollers, a compartmented' structure superimposed over said carrier and fixedly connected to said base and upright structure for laterally supporting separate stacks of material supported on said carrier and calibrated springs for raising said carrier a distance which is proportionate to the amount of weight supported on the carrier to thereby maintain material supported thereon at an, elevation adjoining the top of the compartmented structure.

5'.A self-leveling, storing and dispensing; apparatus comprising, a base, a support fixedly secured to said base and extending vertically and upwardly therefrom, ,a single material supporting carrier mounted for free up and down movement in front. of said support and above said base, said carrier having spaces formed therein through which vertical partitions may extend, a housing surrounding the vertical path of travel of Said carrier, stationary partitions extending perpendicularly through the spaces formed in said, carrier and between said. housing and said'support, to subdivide the area in which said; carrier moves, up. and, down into a plurality' of vertical shaftways which are arranged side by side in a row, each partition consisting of a plurality of rods fixed to said base and having means connecting the upper ends to said housing and support so as to support material in each of said shaftways against lateral displacement while being raised and lowered in said shaftways by said carrier, and means for raising and lowering said carrier in accordance with the amount of material supported thereon to maintain the top of the material within easy reach from the top.

6. Apparatus for storing material in stacks so that it will be visible and readily accessible, said apparatus comprising, a base, vertical support structure rising upwardly from one side of said base, a wire enclosure surrounding and extending upwardly around the perimeter of said base,

means for connecting the lower portion of said wire enclosure to the base, means for connecting the ends of said wire enclosure to said upright structure, a foraminous carrier mounted for free up and down movement inside of said wire enclosure, vertical partitions extending between said wire enclosure and support structure and through said foraminous carrier to subdivide the area thereabove into a plurality of vertically extending compartments, each partition consisting of a plurality of rods fixed to said base and having means connecting the upper ends to said wire enclosure and support structure, and a counterbalancing device for exerting an upward pressure on said carrier which is proportional to the distance said carrier is moved downwardly so as to maintain the upper layer of material supported thereon readily accessible at the top of said wire enclosure.

7. A self leveling storing and dispensing apparatus comprising, a base, an upright structure extending from said base, a single carrier movably connected. to said upright structure for up and down movement with respect thereto, a grating mounted across said carrier for supporting stacks of material, a wire enclosure surrounding and extending upwardly around the perimeter of said base, means for connecting the lower portion of said wire enclosure to the base and for connecting the ends of said wire enclosure to said upright structure, vertical partitions extending between said wire enclosure and upright structure and through the openings of said grating to subdivide the area thereof into a plurality of individual compartments while allowing said single carrier and grating to travel up and down freely in all of said compartments simultaneously, each of said partitions consisting of a plurality of rods fixed in the base and having means connecting the upper ends to said wire enclosure and support structure, calibrated springs connected to said carrier which have a rate of expansion and contraction which is proportional to the total weight of the articles stacked on said carrier so as to maintain the top layer of material stacked on said carrier at a substantially constant level when the stacked material between each of the partitions are all of the same height, regardless of whether additional layers are added to or removed from the material stacked on the carrier.

8. A self leveling, storing and dispensing apparatus comprising, a base, a frame extending upwardly from said base, a vertical enclosure positioned around and extending upwardly from the perimeter of said base, a single carrier movably connected to said frame for movement therealong, a material supporting surface horizontally mounted on said carrier and having openings formed therein, vertical partitions extending between said enclosure and said frame, each partition consisting of a plurality of vertical guide rods fixed in the base and having means connecting the upper ends to said vertical enclosure and said frame and extending through the openings in said material supporting surface to subdivide the horizontal surface of the carrier into a plurality of vertically extending subdivisions while allowing said surface and carrier to move freely up and down, and calibrated springs for counterbalancing the material supported on said carrier to raise said material a distance corresponding with the height of one layer of material in all compartments each time a layer of material is removed from said dispensing apparatus and for lowering said carrier a distance corresponding to the height of the material stored in said apparatus each time a new layer of material is added thereto.

9. Apparatus for storing material so that it will be visible and readily accessible, said apparatus comprising, a base, an upright connected to and extending along one side of said base, a wire enclosure extending upwardly and around the perimeter of said base, legs connected at spaced intervals to the lower portion of said wire enclosure, means for securing said legs to the outside of said base, means for securing the upper ends of said wire enclosure to the sides of said upright, a common foraminous carrier mounted for up and down movement inside of said wire enclosure, vertical partitions extending between said wire enclosure and upright, each partition consisting of a plurality of rods passing downwardly through the openings of said foraminous carrier and fixed in the base and having means connecting the upper ends of said rods to said wire enclosure and upright, and means for raising said carrier to elevate the material positioned thereon a distance which is proportional to the amount of material removed therefrom.

WILLIAM J. GIBBS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,239,482 Cocks Apr. 22, 1941 2,251,873 Gibbs Aug. 5, 1941 2,284,225 Norris May 26, 1942 2,319,872 Leonard May 25, 1943 2,461,683 Gibbs Feb. 15, 1949 2,493,976 Klemm et a1 Jan. 10, 1950 2,525,243 Shelly Oct. 10, 1950 

